Walt Whitman was a man who served as a nurse to wounded soldiers during the Civil War. While he was there, he took what he saw and wrote it down in his poems. Every aspect of every poem was related to the times he was in and he wrote about every experience and feeling he had about what he saw. Whitman had three themes that he focused all of his poems on: individuality, democracy, and freedom. By writing about these themes, Whitman was able to impact what the reader imagined in his head while reading and he was also able to convey through his poems a certain feeling that he wanted the reader to feel. Whitman had a unique writing style, which was free verse. Through free verse, Whitman could direct and write a poem in a way that pleased him and in a way where he was able to give more detail rather than writing in a rhythmic manner. Through Walt Whitman's themes of individuality, democracy, and freedom, Whitman was able to express his feelings about war and leaders in the poems he wrote during the Civil War. After the First Battle of Manassas, the Union suffered its first loss of the Civil War. Civil war. Whitman wrote this poem to try to recruit young men to fight for the Union. In “Beat!” Beat! Battery!" Whitman explained that men should come to the army no matter what bothered them: "Don't make parley - stop so you don't denounce!" (16). In this quote we can see that Whitman wanted soldiers not to care what they were told about fighting in the army, and that it was ultimately the right choice for them to fight “Let the voice of the child. be heard, nor the mother's pleas" (19) Whitman wanted the soldiers to think they had done the right thing by going out and supporting the arm... middle of paper ... with a heavy heart. soldiers” (11-12) This quote shows that the soldiers had heavy hearts when Lincoln was buried because they admired him throughout the war. In “This Dust Was Once The Man,” Whitman. talks about how Lincoln saved the United States "and saved the Union of these States" (4) In this poem, Whitman considers Lincoln a hero He describes how he was "gentle, clear, just and. resolved” (2). With this view of Lincoln, many viewed him as a hero who saved the United States. Whitman's poems had a lasting impact on people who lived in the United States and read what he had to say. The poems he wrote reflected how he felt about different situations and views on the war. The themes he focused his poems on ultimately helped Americans understand what message Whitman was trying to convey through his poems..